Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications

2nd EDITION IN SI UNITS

Yunus A. Cengel, John M. Cimbala
McGraw-Hill, 2010

Chapter 3
PRESSURE AND FLUID
STATICS

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Objectives
• Determine the variation of pressure in a fluid at
rest
• Calculate pressure using various kinds of
manometers
• Calculate the forces exerted by a fluid at rest on
plane or curved submerged surfaces.
• Analyze the stability of floating and submerged
bodies.
• Analyze the rigid-body motion of fluids in
containers during linear acceleration or rotation.

2
3–1 ■ PRESSURE
Pressure: A normal force exerted
by a fluid per unit area

The normal stress (or

“pressure”) on the feet of a
chubby person is much greater
than on the feet of a slim
Some
person.
basic
pressure
3
gages.
Absolute pressure: The actual pressure at a given position. It is
measured relative to absolute vacuum (i.e., absolute zero pressure).
Gage pressure: The difference between the absolute pressure and the
local atmospheric pressure. Most pressure-measuring devices are
calibrated to read zero in the atmosphere, and so they indicate gage
pressure.
Vacuum pressures: Pressures below atmospheric pressure.

Throughout
this text, the
pressure P
will denote
absolute
pressure
unless
specified
otherwise.

4
 40 kPa
100 kPa

100 − 40 = 60 kPa

5
Pressure at a Point Pressure is the compressive
x- direction: force per unit area but it is not
a vector. Pressure at any point
z- direction: in a fluid is the same in all
directions. Pressure has
magnitude but not a specific
direction, and thus it is a
scalar quantity.

Pressure is a scalar quantity,

not a vector; the pressure at a
Forces acting on a wedge-shaped point in a fluid is the same in
6
fluid element in equilibrium. all directions.
Variation of Pressure with Depth
When the variation of density
with elevation is known

The pressure of a fluid at rest

increases with depth (as a Free-body diagram of a rectangular
result of added weight since 7
fluid element in equilibrium.
more fluid rest on deeper layer).
 Pressure in a liquid at
In a room filled with a gas, the rest increases linearly
variation of pressure with height is with distance from the
negligible. free surface.

8
The pressure is the same at all points on a horizontal plane in a
given fluid regardless of geometry, provided that the points are
interconnected by the same fluid.

9
Pascal’s law: The pressure applied to a
confined fluid increases the pressure
throughout by the same amount.

The area ratio A2/A1 is

called the ideal mechanical
advantage of the hydraulic
lift.

Lifting of a large
weight by a small
force by the
application of
10
Pascal’s law.
 3–2 ■ PRESSURE MEASUREMENT DEVICES
The Barometer
• Atmospheric pressure is measured by a device called a barometer; thus,
the atmospheric pressure is often referred to as the barometric pressure.
• A frequently used pressure unit is the standard atmosphere, which is
defined as the pressure produced by a column of mercury 760 mm in
height at 0°C (Hg = 13,595 kg/m3) under standard gravitational
acceleration (g = 9.807 m/s2).

The length or the

cross-sectional area
of the tube has no
effect on the height
of the fluid column of
a barometer,
provided that the
tube diameter is
large enough to
avoid surface tension
(capillary) effects. 11
The basic barometer.
At high altitudes, a car engine generates
less power and a person gets less oxygen
because of the lower density of air.

12
13
14
15
16
The variation of gage
pressure with depth in the
gradient zone of the solar
pond.

17
The Manometer
It is commonly used to measure small and
moderate pressure differences. A manometer
contains one or more fluids such as mercury, water,
alcohol, or oil.
Measuring the
pressure drop across
a flow section or a flow
device by a differential
manometer.

The basic
manometer.

In stacked-up fluid layers, the

pressure change across a fluid layer
of density  and height h is gh. 18
19
20
21
Other Pressure Measurement Devices
• Bourdon tube: Consists of a hollow metal tube
bent like a hook whose end is closed and
connected to a dial indicator needle.
• Pressure transducers: Use various techniques
to convert the pressure effect to an electrical
effect such as a change in voltage, resistance,
or capacitance.
• Pressure transducers are smaller and faster,
and they can be more sensitive, reliable, and
precise than their mechanical counterparts.
• Strain-gage pressure transducers: Work by
having a diaphragm deflect between two
chambers open to the pressure inputs.
• Piezoelectric transducers: Also called solid-
state pressure transducers, work on the
principle that an electric potential is generated in
a crystalline substance when it is subjected to
mechanical pressure.

Various types of Bourdon tubes used 22

to measure pressure.
3–3 ■ INTRODUCTION TO FLUID STATICS
Fluid statics: Deals with problems associated with fluids at rest.
The fluid can be either gaseous or liquid.
Hydrostatics: When the fluid is a liquid.
Aerostatics: When the fluid is a gas.
In fluid statics, there is no relative motion between adjacent fluid
layers, and thus there are no shear (tangential) stresses in the fluid
trying to deform it.
The only stress we deal with in fluid statics is the normal stress, which
is the pressure, and the variation of pressure is due only to the
weight of the fluid.
The topic of fluid statics has significance only in gravity fields.
The design of many engineering systems such as water dams and
liquid storage tanks requires the determination of the forces acting
on the surfaces using fluid statics.
23
3–4 ■ HYDROSTATIC
FORCES ON SUBMERGED
PLANE SURFACES
A plate, such as a gate valve in a dam,
the wall of a liquid storage tank, or the
hull of a ship at rest, is subjected to Hoover
fluid pressure distributed over its Dam.
surface when exposed to a liquid.
On a plane surface, the hydrostatic
forces form a system of parallel forces,
and we often need to determine the
magnitude of the force and its point of
application, which is called the center
of pressure.

When analyzing hydrostatic forces on

submerged surfaces, the atmospheric
pressure can be subtracted for simplicity 24
when it acts on both sides of the structure.
 Hydrostatic force
on an inclined
plane surface
completely
submerged in a
liquid.

The pressure at the

centroid of a surface is
equivalent to the average
pressure on the surface. 25
The resultant force acting on a
plane surface is equal to the
product of the pressure at the
centroid of the surface and the
surface area, and its line of
action passes through the
center of pressure.

second moment of area

(area moment of inertia)
about the x-axis.

26
The centroid and the centroidal moments of
inertia for some common geometries.
27
Pressure acts normal to the surface, and
the hydrostatic forces acting on a flat
plate of any shape form a volume whose
base is the plate area and whose length
is the linearly varying pressure.
This virtual pressure prism has an
interesting physical interpretation: its
volume is equal to the magnitude of the
resultant hydrostatic force acting on the
plate since FR =  PdA, and the line of
action of this force passes through the
centroid of this homogeneous prism.
The projection of the centroid on the plate
is the pressure center.
Therefore, with the concept of pressure
prism, the problem of describing the
resultant hydrostatic force on a plane The hydrostatic forces acting on a
surface reduces to finding the volume plane surface form a pressure prism
and the two coordinates of the centroid of whose base (left face) is the surface
this pressure prism. and whose length is the pressure.

28
Special Case:
Submerged
Rectangular Plate
Hydrostatic force acting
on the top surface of a
submerged tilted
rectangular plate.

29
Hydrostatic force
acting on the top
surface of a
submerged vertical
rectangular plate.

30
Hydrostatic force acting
on the top surface of a
submerged horizontal
rectangular plate.

31
32
33
3–5 ■ HYDROSTATIC FORCES ON
SUBMERGED CURVED SURFACES

Determination of the hydrostatic force acting on a submerged curved surface.

tan α = FV/FH W = ρgV 34

When a curved surface is above the liquid,
the weight of the liquid and the vertical
component of the hydrostatic force act in
the opposite directions.
The hydrostatic force acting on a
circular surface always passes
through the center of the circle since
the pressure forces are normal to
the surface and they all pass
35
through the center.
in a multilayered fluid of different densities can be determined by
considering different parts of surfaces in different fluids as different
surfaces, finding the force on each part, and then adding them using
vector addition. For a plane surface, it can be expressed as

The hydrostatic force on a

surface submerged in a
multilayered fluid can be
determined by considering parts
of the surface in different fluids
as different surfaces. 36
37
Schematic for Example 3–9 and the free-body diagram of
the liquid underneath the cylinder.

38
39
3–6 ■ BUOYANCY AND STABILITY
Buoyant force: The upward force a fluid exerts on a body immersed in it.
The buoyant force is caused by the increase of pressure with depth in a fluid.

The buoyant force acting on

the plate is equal to the
weight of the liquid
displaced by the plate.
For a fluid with constant
density, the buoyant force is
independent of the distance of
the body from the free surface.
It is also independent of the
density of the solid body.
A flat plate of uniform thickness h submerged
in a liquid parallel to the free surface.

40
 The buoyant forces acting on a
solid body submerged in a fluid and
on a fluid body of the same shape
at the same depth are identical.
The buoyant force FB acts upward
through the centroid C of the
displaced volume and is equal in
magnitude to the weight W of the
displaced fluid, but is opposite in
direction. For a solid of uniform
density, its weight Ws also acts
through the centroid, but its
magnitude is not necessarily equal
to that of the fluid it displaces.
(Here Ws > W and thus Ws > FB;
this solid body would sink.)

Archimedes’ principle: The buoyant force acting

on a body immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight
of the fluid displaced by the body, and it acts upward
through the centroid of the displaced volume. 41
For floating bodies, the weight of the entire body must be equal to the
buoyant force, which is the weight of the fluid whose volume is equal to the
volume of the submerged portion of the floating body:

A solid body dropped

into a fluid will sink,
float, or remain at rest
at any point in the
fluid, depending on its
average density
relative to the density
of the fluid. 42
The altitude of a hot air
balloon is controlled by the
temperature difference
between the air inside and
outside the balloon, since
warm air is less dense than
cold air. When the balloon
is neither rising nor falling,
the upward buoyant force
exactly balances the
downward weight.

43
44
45
46
Stability of Immersed and Floating Bodies

Stability is easily
understood by
analyzing a ball
For floating bodies such as on the floor.
ships, stability is an important
47
consideration for safety.
A floating body possesses vertical stability, while an immersed
neutrally buoyant body is neutrally stable since it does not
return to its original position after a disturbance.
An immersed neutrally buoyant body is
(a) stable if the center of gravity, G is directly below the
center of buoyancy, B of the body,
(b) neutrally stable if G and B are coincident, and
(c) unstable if G is directly above B.

48
 A boat can tilt to some
When the center of gravity G of an immersed max angle without
neutrally buoyant body is not vertically aligned capsizing but beyond
with the center of buoyancy B of the body, it is not that angle, it overturns.
in an equilibrium state and would rotate to its E.g: a ball in a trough
stable state, even without any disturbance. between two hills is
stable for small
disturbances, but
unstable for large 49
disturbances.
A floating body is stable if the body is bottom-heavy and thus the center of
gravity G is below the centroid B of the body, or if the metacenter M is above
point G. However, the body is unstable if point M is below point G.
Metacentric height GM: The distance between the center of gravity
G and the metacenter M—the intersection point of the lines of action
of the buoyant force through the body before and after rotation.
The length of the metacentric height GM above G is a measure of the
stability: the larger it is, the more stable is the floating body. 50
3–7 ■ FLUIDS IN RIGID-BODY MOTION
Pressure at a given point has the
same magnitude in all directions, and
thus it is a scalar function.
In this section we obtain relations for
the variation of pressure in fluids
moving like a solid body with or
without acceleration in the absence of
any shear stresses (i.e., no motion
between fluid layers relative to each
other).
Newton’s 2nd law of
motion

Net surface force:

51
Expressing in vector form:

i, j, k = unit vectors
in x,y,z directions

Pressure gradient
Body force,
Remember, m = ρ V

From Newton’s 2nd law of motion, δF = δma = ρ dx dy dz . a

Therefore,

Expressing in scalar form in three orthogonal directions;

52
Special Case 1: Fluids at Rest
For fluids at rest or moving on a straight path at constant velocity, all
components of acceleration are zero, and the relations reduce to

The pressure remains constant in any horizontal direction (P is

independent of x and y) and varies only in the vertical direction as
a result of gravity [and thus P = P(z)]. These relations are
applicable for both compressible and incompressible fluids.

53
Special Case 2: Free Fall of a Fluid Body
A freely falling body accelerates under the influence of gravity. When the air
resistance is negligible, the acceleration of the body equals the gravitational
acceleration, and acceleration in any horizontal direction is zero. Therefore,
ax = ay = 0 and az = -g.

The effect of acceleration on the

pressure of a liquid during free
fall and upward acceleration. 54
Acceleration on a Straight Path
Example: a container partially filled with a liquid, moving
on straight path with constant acceleration.
ay = 0, then Equation 3-43 reduced to:

Therefore:

Rigid-body motion of a liquid in a

Taking point 1 to be origin (x1 = 0, z1 = 0), linearly accelerating tank.

55
 Lines of constant pressure
(which are the projections of the
surfaces of constant pressure on
the xz-plane) in a linearly
accelerating liquid. Also shown is
the vertical rise.

By taking P1 = P2,

zs = z-coordinate of liquid’s free surface

Setting dP = 0,

(isobars)

56
57
58
Rotation in a Cylindrical Container
Consider a vertical cylindrical container partially
filled with a liquid. The container is now rotated
about its axis at a constant angular velocity of .
After initial transients, the liquid will move as a
rigid body together with the container. There is
no deformation, and thus there can be no shear
stress, and every fluid particle in the container
moves with the same angular velocity.

Equations of motion for rotating fluid;

Integrating:
Rigid-body motion of a
liquid in a rotating vertical
cylindrical container.
59
 The distance of free surface from the
bottom of container at radius r
Volume of
paraboloid
formed by
the free
Original volume of fluid in container surface
(without rotation)

60
 integrating:

Taking point 1 to be the origin (r1=0, z1=0);

Note that at a fixed radius, the pressure varies hydrostatically in the

vertical direction, as in a fluid at rest.
For a fixed vertical distance z, the pressure varies with the square of the
radial distance r, increasing from the centerline toward the outer edge.
In any horizontal plane, the pressure difference between the center and
edge of the container of radius R is

61
(Eq. 3-61)

62
63
 Summary
• Pressure
• Pressure Measurement Devices
• Introduction to Fluid Statics
• Hydrostatic Forces on Submerged Plane
Surfaces
• Hydrostatic Forces on Submerged Curved
Surfaces
• Buoyancy and Stability
• Fluids in Rigid-Body Motion

64